AFP journalist killed by Grad rockets in Chasiv Yar

Arman Soldin, a video journalist for Agence France-Presse, was killed when Russia launched Grad rockets at Chasiv Yar on May 9, the news agency reported.

According to AFP, the attack happened at around 4:30 p.m. local time on the outskirts of the city.

The AFP team, which included Soldin, was with Ukrainian soldiers when Russia started launching Grad rockets at the city.  

The 32-year-old video journalist was killed when a rocket struck close to where he was sheltering, AFP wrote. The rest of the team was unharmed.

Chasiv Yar is located to the west of Bakhmut, the city which has seen the most intense fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops since the start of the full-scale invasion.

"The whole agency is devastated by the loss of Arman," AFP chairman Fabrice Fries wrote.
"His death is a terrible reminder of the risks and dangers faced by journalists every day covering the conflict in Ukraine."

Asami Terajima, reporter at the Kyiv Independent, knew Soldin and said, "He was the bravest journalist, spending more than a month each time in Donbas — he went on mission after mission, producing extremely rare video content both from within and near Bakhmut."

Both foreign and Ukrainian journalists have figured among the casualties since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

On April 26, La Repubblica correspondent Corrado Zunino was injured and his fixer Bohdan Bitik was killed in a Russian attack on Kherson Oblast.